Unraveled Wednesday 11/10/21

 Good Morning!

Wow!  I've had several very good nights of sleep in a row (almost 9 hours last night!!).  [Hopefuly I have not just jinxed myself.]  

Work was annoying (what a surprise) and busier than I expected yesterday.  The parking lot had a lot of cars.  Fortunately I did not see everyone - LOL.  I spent some (frustrating) time with Bruce.  Long story, but basically I cannot really be supportive of him and his team if they don't help me out.  For over 6 months now, Bruce has been saying things will change and they don't.  I guess I finally got fed up and kind of laid down the law yesterday.  Really I don't want to ruffle too many (but a few) feathers, but I would like to be able to do my job.  We shall see if my little talk had any impact...if not, the next year plus should go fairly quickly and then (hopefully) I will be ready to retire (if not before...).

I did start to do open enrollment, but I need to finish that up today.  Open enrollment closes the 17th and I'd like to be finished with it.  The balance of my agenda today is picking up my new glasses (finally!!) and working on some financial spreadsheets for both Mike and Lisa.  A stop at the post office is in order as well.

But first...it is Unraveled Wednesday and as usual I am linking up with Kat and her merry band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  Do take the time to check out the links on her blog - so much inspiration there!

After (finally) finishing the socks for Peggy, I cast on the scarf for Zhongren (Mailing's Dad) that I want to have finished before Christmas.  The pattern is simple (easy to memorize), but effective and I love the yarn I am using.

That's about 18" or just about halfway through.  Here's a close up so you can see how the pattern knits up:

The yarn is some I bought at the NJ Sheep & Wool festival this past September.  It is Jackalope (80% superwash merino and 20% nylon) from the Light Brown Hare and the colorway is Call Box #3 (someone said this is from Dr. Who?  I don't know as I've never watched that show).  The pattern is Mariner's scarf from The Seamen's church Institute and is free on Ravelry (Rav Link).

I've been thinking of making This Cowl for Bonnie (Mailing's Mom), but I'm beginning to question whether I will have sufficient time.  I may end up making her some fingerless mitts and then knit the cowl next year.  Time will tell.

On the reading side of things, not much has happened.  I did finish Water Like a Stone by Deborah Crombie (book #11 in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series).  None of the books in this series are what I would call compelling - they are just enjoyable mysteries.  I enjoyed this one as it talked a bit about Narrowboats and after reading "The Narrowboat Summer" a few months ago it was fun to get descriptions of some.  Many are really fancy and outfitted with the most modern of conveniences.  Still...7' wide is not very wide...Of course, our camper is like that (and much shorter than a Narrowboat), but we don't live in our camper...we just use it for a week or two here and there.

Last night I started reading The Sweetness of Water and oh my!  I have not gotten far (only 25 pages or so before my eyes were closing), but I have already come across several sentences I want to share with my friend Leslie who is a writer.  The language and the writing are both beautiful.  I can tell that the book will not be a happy one, but coming across phrases and sentences that I want to jot down is sheer joy!

OK!  My second cup of coffee has been poured and it is time for me to do a bit of work before heading out for errands.  Be sure to check out the links on Kat's blog and have a fabulous Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday November 9, 2021

 Hello and Good Morning!

How are you?  Has your body adjusted to the time change yet?  I think I have (always easier in the Fall rather than the Spring) and I'm doing well.  I never made it to the office yesterday!  Right after I posted I received an email from Bruce saying he was going to work from home  and go to the office on Tuesday.  And, it turned out Mike was pretty backed up with conference calls ALL day long, so I decided to stay home.  I'll head in later this morning so I can meet with Bruce.

Meanwhile, I managed to get two loads of laundry done and hung everything outside to dry - it was a gorgeous (and warm!) day.  I also found time to do some stitching and I've managed to get quite a bit done on the Pomegranate Birds sampler.

Look at that!  Bird #1 is complete and I even started filling in the urn.  I was able to get the "MADE BY VL" stitched and started to fill in around the letters.  Click to enlarge.  I love the slanty A in MADE.  the bottom part of the urn will have the year - hopefully 2021 - but I hesitate to stitch that now as I may jinx myself.  After I finish the top part of the urn, I will stitch the matching bird on the right...then it will be time to fill in the year.  I'm so pleased with the way this is turning out.

Speaking of birds...yesterday afternoon Fletch and I were sitting on the patio when Fletch noticed several birds at the top of a dead tree a couple of houses down the street from us.

Not a great picture, but the best I could do with my phone and 3 yards away from us.  (Look at that blue, blue sky!!).  Anyway, it doesn't show in this picture, but the birds had the brightest redish/chestnut color on their breasts when the sun was hitting them and the shape (look at the one on the right, lower branch) was the same as a Sparrow Hawk.  Then the birds one-by-one took flight and came to our apple tree and it turns out they were doves.  LOL  We had gotten all excited over doves.

Another interesting bird thing (to us) that has happened this year.  We have a suet feeder hanging from the edge of our patio.  Usually Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers and the like will swoop in to eat.  They have to hang upside down to get to the suet.  No songbirds have fed that way...until now.  Sparrows are flocking in and dining on the suet and they are chasing some of the larger birds away!  I saw one fly up and pull the tail feathers of a bird to get it to move.  So funny.

Mabel enjoys watching from the house and will "chitter" to the birds as they fly in and out.  I've tried to get a video of her doing that, but so far no success.  It's hysterical to watch her little mouth moving so fast!

Well, work emails are already flying in and I've got stuff to do (including I MUST complete open enrollment).  Time to pour some more coffee, dry my hair and get ready for the day.  Hope your Tuesday is a good one!

Weekending...Plus Evidence...

 Good morning!

How was your weekend?  Ours was good.  We completely forgot about the time change!  LOL  Sunday is the one morning of the week I fix breakfast for us.  I got up as usual and cooked some bacon and made blueberry pancakes.  We were in the kitchen consuming when the radio host mentioned the time.  We were both "What???"  It was nice to come across an extra hour that morning, but boy it got dark fast in the afternoon.

Friday I skipped out of my office right after my conference call and zoomed over to DSW.  I needed/wanted some new sneakers and I had a $25 coupon that was set to expire on Sunday.  I found a pair I liked and stopped at Pet Smart to look at cat carriers (we had given our carrier to Colin & Mailing after Tyg was killed).  Anyway, I didn't find any I like (I bought one on Amazon instead and it arrived yesterday.)  Fletch was over at Colin & Mailing's watching Dune and when I got home I heard the radio on.  I had not turned it on before leaving the house.  We have a Bose radio/cd player in the kitchen and if you touch the top it will turn on or off.  Guess who must have jumped up on the table and walked across the radio?

Saturday another plant hit the floor and came out of its pot.  I had watered the indoor plants in the morning and decided to move my African violet into the living room.  That was a mistake.  It didn't even take 5 minutes for that plant to wind up on the floor.  I cleaned up that mess and then left to meet up with Dee for some needed therapy - coffee, knitting and chatting.

Then there is the second scratching "thing" that Mabel has.  Fletch bought this one and it is shaped like a cat with a big fluffy tail.

The green stuff?  Why that's the stuffing for the tail.  More than scratching, Mabel apparently just loves pulling things apart.

Then there is this dried arrangement (with some wooden flowers included).  (And the plant on top of the pile of books is the first one that Mabel knocked over breaking its original pot.  Thankfully it seems to be doing ok in a new pot and a new location.)

There are some dried cattails and fronds from our yard in the arrangement which used to be on a table in the living room.  But, for the second time someone (that would be Mabel) has knocked it over.  Luckily the vase did not break...but those fronds?  Apparently they are the best kitty toys.  She pulls them out of the vase and trots around with them in her mouth.  Then she plays with them and God knows how many have been batted under the stove.  That girl is definitely still in the kitten stage.

The balance of the weekend was pleasant.  Colin and Mailing were over for dinner (I made crawfish etouffee and also the cranberry pie that Bonny blogged about - DELICIOUS!!).  I managed to find plenty of time to knit and stitch and read!  And I successfully avoided all chores like cleaning and laundry.  To me, that is a successful weekend!

Today I'm heading back to the office.  Both Bruce and Mike will be in and I need to meet with both of them.  I'm hoping (fingers crossed) to be out of there by lunch time.  Wishing you all a great start to a new week - enjoy!

What's for Dinner? November 4, 2021

 Good Morning!

28 degrees this a.m.  The heat has been turned on and I just had my first sip of this morning's coffee.  Mabel is somewhere...hopefully staying out of trouble (see below).

I don't have a dinner recipe to share today.  We simply had a ham steak last night with baked acorn squash and sauteed cabbage.  Simple, but good food.  And to mix things up, Colin is coming for lunch today instead of dinner (one of the headlights is out on his car and he would prefer to not drive at night until he gets that fixed).  It will be fun to have him over during the day and I'm hoping he will have a little chat with his sister (Mabel) (see below).  I'm not fixing anything fancy for lunch - just some soft tacos with chicken, peppers, onions, mushrooms.  There is fresh cilantro to chop and, hopefully, a ripe avocado I can slice.  Most likely dinner will be various leftovers.

I did do some food prep (I don't really think it can be called cooking) yesterday.  I found This Recipe for Christmas Fudge and decided if I'm going to make it for Christmas I'd best test it first - LOL.  I'm here to tell you it's good, very good.  Very, very sweet, but tasty.  I hope to send some of it home with Colin today.

It was while I was either finishing up the fudge or prepping things for dinner that I heard a crash in the living room.  Fletch was outside, so that left one responsible creature.  And what a mess!

This particular plant had not been doing all that well, but now it was in worse shape.  And Mabel kept going back to the scene of the crime.  I got it cleaned up before Fletch came in and he found another (plastic this time) pot for the plant.  But...Mabel has got to learn!!  She is definitely still in the kitten stage of life.

She has also been sneaking down to the basement quite a bit.  Whenever the door opens - I'm either going down for laundry or going down to get wine or going down to get a canned good...she will race by my legs and then later come upstairs with a face full of cobwebs.  LOL  I do want her to get used to going downstairs to the basement.  That is where we usually keep the litterbox for emergencies.  Since Mabel is not yet going outside, we have the litterbox upstairs in a bathroom.  Not ideal, but it is cleaned daily (sometimes twice a day), so it is not really smelly...but still...I don't like it there.  However, we have no other place to put it.  Soon we will begin acclimating her to going outside, but not quite yet.

Well, it's Thursday and I've got a slew of financial reports to run and send out, so I'd best get started.  Hope your day is off to a good start.   Just knowing it's Friday Eve is hopeful!

Unraveled Wednesday November 3, 2021

Good Morning!

It's light outside...I slept without waking up once until 7:30 this morning which is absolutely amazing (and so refreshing!).  Considering that I went upstairs to read around 10 p.m. and turned the light out at 10:20, that is 9 hours of sleep!!  Woo-Hoo.

My dentist appointment went well yesterday - especially since I had not been for a cleaning since pre-pandemic times (and I used to go every 4 months).  My gums were in good shape and everything looked good.  YAY!  I was able to finish up the laundry yesterday and even cleaned the bathrooms and scrubbed floors.  Good to have that chore out of the way (for a week anyway).  I even found time to relax and knit a bit!

Welcome to the first Wednesday in November and Unraveled Wednesday where like-minded folks meet up (and link up) with Kat and her Merry Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  I am thrilled to show you that Peggy's socks are finished!!!

Definitely Fraternal Twin socks and I think Peggy will love them.  I don't know if a pair of socks has ever taken me so long.  The first sock was started on 9/3 and finished on 10/23.  The second sock was started on 10/23 and finished on 11/2.  I almost never have second sock syndrome...the second sock always goes faster for me.

These were knit on #2 needles using Static yarn from KnitPicks in the colorway "Glow."  I, however, prefer to call the colorway Faded Roses.  There are still a couple of Christmas knits I would like to make and I suppose I should speed it up if that is going to happen.

On the reading front, I finished Pax, Journey Home which I ended up enjoying.  Not as much as the first book ("Pax"), but this one was sweet too.  I have given up on Malibu Rising which was just not for me.  I did not find it entertaining, but rather annoying...so why bother?  Too many other books on my TBR list to spend time on one that is not enjoyable.

I just started reading Water Like a Stone which is book #11 in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James books by Deborah Crombie.  This series are easy mysteries to read and I am enjoying them.  This one features some Narrowboats which (for me) is fun after reading "The Narrowboat Summer" earlier.  I received notice that another book has come in at the library for me:  Georgia which is a novel about Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz.  I'm hoping this is a good one.  

Today I'm heading toward the office.  I have a few things I need/want to print in color and I should check the mail, etc.  Also, I want to stop at Trader Joes (like I did not do enough grocery shopping on Sunday!!) and the state store for some wine.  The state store by my office is larger than any by my home and they carry a much better selection.  Then it will be a stop at CVS to pick up some more Zyrtec (allergies this Fall!!  they are AWFUL) and then the library.

I'll leave you with a sweet shot of Mabel - as Colin says, she has very long legs.  I love how she covers her eyes with her paws.

Be sure to head over to Kat's to see what others are making are reading - inspiration will abound, I promise!

Tiny Needle Tuesday November 2, 2021

 Good Morning!

It is still early and dark outside, but I'm up.  It is 6 a.m. and I have a dentist appointment at 7:30.  Enough time to sip some hot coffee and post on TNT (Tiny Needle Tuesday).

Yesterday was one of those simply beautiful Fall days.  Fletch worked in the garden doing some clean up.  I worked (work-work) and did some laundry.  It was a perfect day for hanging things on the line to dry.

A tablecloth billowing in the breeze, some leggings and a bunch of socks - many of them hand knit.  Everything smelled so fresh and good when I took things off the line late in the day.  There is still more laundry to do (of course), but I don't think it's going to be quite as nice for drying outside.

My plan was to finish the first Pomegranate Bird on my sampler, but that didn't happen.  Still, more progress than the other week (at least you can tell it's a bird).

The colors are just scrumptious, aren't they?  So pretty.  There will (of course) be another bird on the right hand side.  Then the urn gets filled in (some words and some background color).  So...still quite a bit of stitching left on this one.  No rush.

So, the dentist at 7:30 and then my annual review (via phone) at 10:30.  I've already seen a copy of the written review (all good), but today I will find out what my increase will be.  I don't expect any surprises (in a good or bad way)...our raises are always pretty much at 3% (which sucks, but...).  After that I hope to get some chores done (the laundry, bathrooms, maybe the kitchen floor?) and find some time to knit and relax.

My hope is that this Tuesday will find you doing something fun and enjoyable!

Weekending - November 1, 2021

 Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  How was Halloween?  We had exactly one group (of about 5) come to the door (while we were having dinner).  Two little kids and two bigger (teenager) kids and one dad.  They all took some candy and that was it!  We left the porch light on and the front door open for quite some time and then by 9 p.m. we shut off the light.  I missed seeing more little kids dressed up.

My weekend was nice.  I met up with Dee for coffee and knitting and chatting on Saturday morning.  As always, that was so enjoyable.  (What did I do before Dee and Steve moved up from Florida??)  Despite interference by a certain someone (that would be Mabel), I managed to do a little stitching and a bit of knitting.

Progress is occuring on the 2nd sock.  And...I managed to change the tablecloth to a fall-themed one.  The picture above has so many good things:  clean tablecloth, knitting, ginger-turmeric tea and one of my all time favorite bookmarks which my Dad had given to me at some point (it says, "The best man for the job is often a woman").  Also the white envelopes behind my tea are our mail-in ballots for the election.  We will be dropping them off today at one of the local collection points.

Yesterday was filled with laundry and grocery shopping.  Yikes!  Is it me or have prices sky-rocketed?  Fletch and I went to one store and dropped $287.  Later I went to two other stores trying to locate a few things we couldn't find at the first.  Those two stores were another $60.  There are only two of us!  I did need to re-stock a few things (soups, canned beans, cat food - of course), and even though I had made breakfast, I guess I was hungry when we shopped because I bought more snack-type things than usual.  But still!!  We also had not shopped the previous weekend...but still...

This little one continues to amuse and delight us.

Thankfully she is quiet all night (and I am keeping the bedroom door shut), but once I am up in the morning, she is flying around - sliding on the hardwood floors, crashing into things, spooking herself out, etc.  Yesterday she was prancing in the kitchen in front of the sliding door to the patio.  She kept arching her back (just like a good Halloween cat) and then I realized it was still dark out and she was reacting to her reflection in the glass.  LOL

Today holds a conference call for me at 10, then Fletch and I will drive to the 4-H center where we can drop off our ballots.  A stop at the library is in order as I received notication that a book I requested is in.  I have a pile more laundry waiting to be done and I'm hoping for sunny weather so that I can at least hang out the jeans to dry.  Not too exciting, but we will see what the day holds.  Happy November!